Use up your ripe bananas to make these peanut butter fudge cookies. Protein-rich and high in fiber, these delicious cookies are made with peanut butter, bananas, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. They're perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack, and ready in just 15 minutes!
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This cookie recipe is a new favorite of mine. By adding cocoa powder to mashed bananas, peanut butter (and a splash of vanilla extract), you get soft and chewy cookies that are subtly sweet, rich, and nutty.
And because they are naturally sweetened (no added sugar), they are kid-friendly, healthy, and a great satisfying breakfast option.
They're similar to my banana peanut butter cookies and ready to eat in just 15 minutes. So, if you are short on time and are in need of a healthy and delicious snack, dessert, or breakfast, these cookies are for you!
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⭐️ Why These Cookies Are The Best
- Slightly sweet, salty, nutty, fudgy, and so addictive!
- Healthy cookies that contain no added sugar, are flourless, gluten-free, high in fiber, protein-rich, and full of vitamins & minerals.
- Quick & easy cookie recipe with just 4 simple ingredients and ready in 15 minutes
- Freezer-friendly cookies
🍌 Ingredient Notes
- Bananas - Be sure to use ripe bananas for this recipe. Once they develop spots, they are ripe enough to use. The more they ripen, the sweeter they become, so you can decide how sweet you want your cookies to be. If you have more ripe bananas to use up, try my 3 ingredient pancakes or dairy free smoothie.
- Peanut butter - This recipe calls for all-natural peanut butter, but use whatever you have on hand. Just keep in mind that using sweetened peanut butter adds processed sugar.
- Cocoa powder - Gives our cookies a rich chocolaty taste without any extra calories or sugar.
- Vanilla extract - Adds deep and rich flavor
- Flaky sea salt (optional) - Adding this is totally optional, but the flaky salt adds a nice crunchy contrast to the sweetened cookies.
🥥 Variations and Substitutions
- Mix-ins. Add ¼ cup of your favorite mix-ins, like dried cranberries, chocolate chips, coconut flakes,
- Add ½ teaspoon of your favorite spice. Cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice would be delicious in these cookies.
- Old-fashioned oats. Add ½ cup of old-fashioned oats for a heartier and more substantial cookie.
- For peanut allergies: Substitute almond butter or cashew butter.
- For sweeter cookies: In general, the riper your bananas are, the sweeter your cookies will be. That said, you can make them even sweeter by adding 1 tablespoon of maple syrup or honey.
- Make nut-free: Use sunflower seed butter or tahini in place of the peanut butter.
🥄 Recipe Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place mashed bananas in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add peanut butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well incorporated.
Using a medium-sized cookie scoop or large spoon, place cookie dough onto lined baking sheet. Sprinkle cookies with flaky sea salt (if using).
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely. Can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or stored in freezer.
⏲ Expert Tips
- Storage Instructions: Store your cookies in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- How to freeze: After cookies are completely cooled, place your baking sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, allowing cookies to harden. Remove cookies from the freezer and transfer them to a freezer bag. Your cookies can be stored in for up to 3 months in the freezer. And because these are soft cookies, they are delicious directly from the freezer!
- Chill. Although you can eat your cookies shortly after taking them out of the oven, I prefer to eat them after they have chilled in the refrigerator for several hours. The cookies develop a thick, fudgy texture that I love!
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
The more ripe your bananas are, the sweeter they are. Therefore, you can decide how sweet you want your cookies to be. Generally speaking, lightly speckled bananas are ripe enough and will work great. If you have bananas that are still underripe, you can add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to your cookies.
This recipe calls for all-natural peanut butter that is unsweetened. However, if you do choose to use sweetened peanut butter (that contains sugar), I would recommend only using 2 bananas so the cookies do not become overly sweet (unless you want really sweet cookies).
There's no chance of you ending up with hard cookies using this recipe! They are flour-less, with the main ingredients being peanut butter, bananas, and cocoa powder. Therefore, the texture is softer and fudgier than your average cookie.
🍪 More Vegan Cookie Recipes
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Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- medium mixing bowl
- medium cookie scoop
- large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ cup all-natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place mashed bananas in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add peanut butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, mix until well incorporated.
- Using a medium-sized cookie scoop or large spoon, place cookie batter onto lined baking sheet. Sprinkle cookies with flaky sea salt (if using).
- Bake for 10 minutes. Let cookies cool completely. Can be refrigerated up to 4 days or stored in freezer.
Notes
- Store your cookies in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Chill. Although you can eat the cookies shortly after taking them out of the oven, I prefer to eat them after they have chilled in the refrigerator for several hours. They develop a thick, fudgy texture that I love.
Sandhya
Now, this is so delicious. I can indulge in the fudge cookies guilt-free.
Gastronotherapy
You definitely can Sandhya!
veenaazmanov
Love the combination of Peanut Butter. This Fudge is perfect for all my sweet tooth cravings. I have to make my batch.
Gastronotherapy
Yes! Let me know how they turn out!
Anjali
I love how healthy these cookies are!! We made a huge batch and used them as a "treat" for my kids' school lunches this whole week! They thought they were getting dessert, and I felt good about what I was giving them - win win!
Gastronotherapy
Fantastic, Anjali!! It really is a win-win for parents!
Biana
These cookies look so yummy! I love that they are made from just a few healthy ingredients.
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Biana! They are almost TOO good!
Tara
I made these cookies on a whim because I had a few ripe bananas to use up and didn't feel like making banana bread. Well, I'm so glad I did, because they're SO delicious!! My daughter even raved about them, and she's pretty hard to please! This is a genius flourless cookie recipe disguised as a healthy snack! Thanks for sharing it!
MaryAnne
Thanks so much, Tara! I love the fact that these cookies can be a healthy snack or dessert as well! 😉